The Tokyo Mew Mew Carnival
by StrawberryInsanity
Summary: He had been picked up by the carnival, and it was everything but what he'd expected it to be. The ringmaster hates him, the magician is sugar and spice, his new "best buds" are sideshow performers, and the fortune teller is keeping secrets.
1. Found by the Carnival

Me: I wasn't sure about putting this up at first, but I told a friend I would, so here it is. My third story^^ I know, another KxI, but I have a very strong attachment to the pairing...that and I have a slight obsession with carnvals, which is where this idea sprouted from. I hope you like it! There'll probably be a few OC's, but they won't be a big part of the story, just there so it won't be like, a midget sized carnival.

The chapters just from Kish's POV to Ichigo's, but it'll tell you who's POV it is at the top of the chapter.

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

Kish's POV

_I sat in the rocking chair near my mom's bed. It was getting worse, the pneumonia was starting to take over, she couldn't even get out of bed. She was dying and I knew it, but I didn't want to admit it._

"_Kish…" She said, her voice raspy and quiet, "Come here."_

_I got up, slowly and hesitantly, and walked over to her, "What is it? Can I get you something? Water?"_

_She patted the bed, "Sit…sit here." I sat down on the edge of the bed._

"_Now Kish, I know we've never had much, but you'll be fine." Mom said._

"_What are you talking about? Why are you talking like you're going to die?" I said._

"_You and I…both know that I-" She cut off, coughing._

"_Don't say it." I said, "Mom, don't talk like that."_

"_Kish…take care of her…" Huh?_

"_What- Who? Take care of who?" I asked. She sank into the bed deeper, her eyes closing, her breath wheezing and becoming shallow._

"_I…chi…go…" And then she was gone._

"_Mom? Mom!" I grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. She couldn't be gone, she was my mom! She was all I had! "Mom, wake up! Who's Ichigo? Mom!"_

_But it was useless, she was gone. My eyes started to tear up. I hated crying, but right now I didn't care, I bent over and cried into the side of Mom's neck. What was I supposed to do without her?_

One week later…

What happened?

Where am I?

"Mom…" I mumbled into a soft pillow and then heard a giggle. It's a cute giggle, but where did it come from? And why did I say "mom"? I had blocked out the memories of when she died, it hurt to much to think about it, so I could barely remember it now. Where was I? The last thing I remember was being in some park and….and then what happened? There was this guy, a tall guy with purple hair, he looked grumpy but I don't remember why he was there. Something about Tokyo and meow or something.

"Is he okay?"

"What's his name, na no da?"

"Where'd it come from?" Someone pokes my shoulder roughly.

"He is not an _it_, Tart."

"Ugh…" I try to say something but I'm to dehydrated and my throat is so dry it hurts. Is that why I passed out in the park? Wait…I did pass out, right? Or did tall, dark, and purple do something to me? I am now very suspicious of him, though I have no idea who he is.

"He's waking up, na no da!"

"Alright, alright, all of you out now." I hear a sweet sounding voice say and then feet, several feet, moving around. A door closes and then someone sits on the edge of the bed next to me. The blanket over me is so warm and soft, I burrow into the sheets. They smell like strawberries. This has got to be the best place I've ever slept in. Much better than the homeless shelters, I don't even care where I am anymore. Someone brushes my hair out of my face.

"Hey, wake up, you need to drink something, okay?" Drink something? Yes! I manage to slowly flip myself over on my back, though the person -who I'm assuming is a girl- helped, I'm pretty weak from the dehydration. I don't want to open my eyes so I don't, I just lay there. Wasn't there something about a drink? Almost like she read my mind, a cool glass is put to my lips and a hand slips behind my head, tilting it up so I can drink properly without spilling it or gagging. As soon as the water reaches my mouth, I drink it, taking it greedily. God, I'm so thirsty. I sit up a little, using my elbow for support and take the glass from the girl, drinking the water until the glass is empty.

"You were pretty thirsty, huh?"

I open my eyes slowly, lazily, and see…wow, she's…beautiful. She has short, pink hair up in pigtails and big, babyish pink eyes that are framed by the longest eyelashes I've ever seen. She's wearing a tight, black t-shirt that has a pink outlining of a carousel on it and one of those tutu-like miniskirts, it's black with a pink bow on the front.

She smiles at me and I wipe my mouth on the sleeve of my shirt, staring at her like an idiot. I nod slowly to answer her question.

She takes the glass from me and puts it on the bedside table. "I figured. You're lucky Pai found you, you know, who knows what could have happened if he hadn't."

"Who's Pai?" My throat is still a little dry, so my voice comes out sounding raspy. I sit up and clear my throat.

"He's the head of the roustabouts." She answers. So he _didn't_ do something to me. Good, I'd have a thing or two to say if he had knocked me out or drugged me.

"Oh…" I'm still confused, though. Rousta-what's? "Where am I?"

"Your with the Tokyo Mew Mew carnival," She answers.

The…carnival? I look around the room. It's pretty small, the walls are natural wood and covered in old, vintage carnival posters. _The Bearded Lady, The Devil's Daggers, The Mystifying Magician, The Crazy Contortionist_, and a bunch more. The bed I'm on is against the wall farthest from the door and just big enough to fit one person, next to it is a bureau, made of dark wood, and there's layers of black lace hanging as a curtain to hide the bed and bureau from the rest of the room, I can't see past it but I think there's boxes or something behind it.

"So…a carnival, huh?" I ask.

"Yup, and I'm the magician," The girl said, "Well, that and the contortionist. My name's Ichigo."

I look at her. Why is that name so familiar? Whatever, I doubt it really matters, "You do both?" I ask.

"Both!" She confirms, with a smile, kind of like she's a little proud of herself, but it's cute. I don't blame her, I mean, I would be too if I could do magic tricks and contortion. All I know how to do is a few card tricks, but that'd be amateur stuff for her.

"What's your name?" Ichigo asks.

"Uh, Kish," I answer.

She studies me for a moment, "Are you a runaway?"

"No." I answer.

She suddenly seems weary of me, "Criminal?"

"No." I answer. What would I have done?

"Then what?" She asks.

"I just…" I look at her. She's clean and neatly dressed, it makes me feel filthy and like I should be dressed better. I haven't even been able to take a decent shower in days. "I don't have any parents, I've been living on the streets and I guess I just…hadn't gotten anything to drink in a while."

"Where are you from?" She asks.

"Meguro?" I say like it should've been obvious. We are in Meguro…right?

"Wow, you've traveled pretty far, huh?" Ichigo says.

I furrow my brow, confused, "Where are we?"

"Shibuya, in the same park you passed out in." Ichigo says. "You didn't know you crossed the Meguro city boarder?"

I shake my head and run my hands through my hair, "No. I had just been going wherever, I wasn't paying much attention to where."

She cocks her head to the side cutely, "When did your parents um…pass on?"

"My dad died in a war when I was to young to know him," I answer, "And my mom…it was a week ago, of pneumonia."

She gives me a sympathetic look, "I'm so sorry to hear that." She reaches over and fixes my hair a little, "You look like you haven't had a bath in days, though."

I run my hands over my hair, ducking my head, and I guess she takes it as a sign to back off. I don't want her to touch me when my hair is all messy and I probably have dirt all over me. At least I don't smell, I think. It makes me feel kind of…low, I guess, with her all pretty and clean and I'm all covered in dirt with dirty clothes. I feel like a hobo, especially when I remember I have a hole in the sleeve of my shirt, and the shirt itself is at least two sizes to big.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed, "Thanks for taking care of me and all, but you probably want me gone now, huh?" I try to stand but at the same time Ichigo tries to say something and the door opens, so I flop back down onto the bed. It's a woman, with long purple hair and purple eyes, she's wearing a black dress that has long sleeves, they flare out wide at the bottom, and it has a hood, it's really deep and long, ending at a point. It hangs down her back and off her shoulders.

"Zakuro!" Ichigo says, "This is-"

"Kish, the boy Pai found." Zakuro says, staring at me in a knowing sort of way. I guess word gets around quick here. "I am Zakuro Fujiwara, the Tokyo Mew Mew's fortune teller."

"She's a really good one, too!" Ichigo says.

Zakuro mumbles something under her breath but all I can make out is "image" and "his".

I raise an eyebrow at her, "Excuse me?" I glance at Ichigo, she looks confused but doesn't say anything.

"Kish, I would like to read your cards." Zakuro says. I look at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow.

"To make sure you won't be any trouble." Ichigo answers with a shrug.

"Oh, uh…sorry, I don't have any cards." I say. I don't remember what happened to the deck I had, and what does she mean by "read" them?

Ichigo rolls her eyes and Zakuro pulls a deck of tarot cards out of seemingly nowhere. Oh, that's what.

"Let me rephrase myself." Zakuro says, "I would like to give you a card reading."

"What, like…see my future?" I chuckle. Is she joking? "But that's all crap, right? It doesn't actually work."

She looks up at me, her eyes boring into mine. Creepy. "It is not "crap", Kisshu Matsuue," How did she…? "What I see, hear, and feel is all very real."

Ichigo bends over a little and whispers to me, "I think you made her mad."

"Now, as I said, I would like to read your cards." Zakuro says.

I nod slowly, "Okay." She's a scary person.

She walks up to me, though it looks more like she's gliding, and holds the tarot cards out to me, "Shuffle."

* * *

Me: I'm not to sure about how this first chapter came out, but I think it's okay. You won't get to find out most of the characters' roles in the carnival until about...the next chapter. And there is a reason as to why Kish's mom knew about Ichigo, and why Zakuro knew exactly who Kish was, but none of it will be discovered until later. There might be other parings, I'm not sure yet, probably PaixRetasu, obviously TartxPurin, and I kind of want to put RyouxMinto, but...no one really seems to like that pairing...

Kish: She's leaving it up to the readers.

Me: Yup! So Read and Review please!!


	2. Meeting the Performers

Me: The second chapter is here! **Nene** requested that I give the girls their animal features, so since I didn't put that in the first chapter, pretend I did.^^ And just so people know, I don't actually know how to do a tarot card reading, I'm just going by what I've seen in shows and stuff, so this might not be 100 percent accurate. And also, I'm probably going to go with PxR, TxP, and RxM as the other pairings.

Thanks for Reading:  
**Zira the insane one  
Rico Latte Mew  
TheChangingPersonUnderUrBed  
Cg2 & nene**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

Kish's POV

* * *

I take the cards and shuffle them, just like Zakuro said to, and then hand them back to her. She sits on the floor in front of the bed and I resituate myself, now sitting cross-legged. Ichigo is still standing and watches us.

Zakuro deals the first card; "The Sun, often meaning a new life is on its way."

I raise an eyebrow, "Someone's pregnant?" I smirk and glance at Ichigo when she clamps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

"No." Zakuro says, "Well…perhaps, but not here. A new life for _you_, Kish; a new beginning; a light after the dark." Once again my eyes travel to Ichigo, though I don't really know why.

Zakuro deals the next card. "The Five of Wands; you will experience great competition in the near future, and also learn what true competition is."

"Competition for what?" I ask.

Zakuro ignores me and deals another card, "The Two of Pentacles; you-"

"Why is there a dude and a chick looking at each other?" I ask, interrupting her, "They look all romance-y and mushy and stuff."

Zakuro sighs and I think she's fighting back an urge to hit something-me-and says, "The Two of Pentacles shows that a relationship in your life is near, perhaps a new close friend, a lover, or perhaps both."

"So…basically what the cards are saying is;" I say, "I'm going to get a girlfriend and then someone's going to steal her away?"

"You are not seeing the meaning in all of this, Kisshu," Zakuro says, "A competition for love or for something else; a new and better life is to come for you. Be happy with it and do not take anything for granted, protect what you have." She slips another card off the deck but holds it in front of herself so I can't see it. Then she gathers her cards and leaves.

Ichigo laughs lightly, and it think it's supposed to be apologetically, "Zakuro is…not that great with people."

"Yeah, I think she's in the wrong business." I say. I don't exactly have something _to_ protect.

"So are you going to stay?" Ichigo asks.

"Stay where?" I ask.

"Here. With us." She says.

"Oh…I don't know, I mean-" She plops onto the bed next to me, taking my hand and I fight down a blush, though with all the dirt on my face I don't think she'd be able to see it anyway.

"You have to!" She says, "You have nowhere else to go, and plus, Pai's been griping about not having enough roustabouts and he can get pretty cranky."

"You…want me to stay?" I ask.

"Well, sure!" Ichigo says, "It'd be better than you living on the streets, wouldn't it? Unless…you don't _want_ to join."

"No, I do!" I say. I could get used to this place, especially with a cute little kitty like her around. Heh, maybe she'll be this new relationship Zakuro was talking about, but didn't she also say something about a competition? For some reason this thought makes me want to hold her close.

She smiles at me, "Great!"

I start to lean over very slowly, wanting to kiss her, but the door bursts open and we jump away from each other. At least she doesn't know I was going to kiss her. Now standing in the doorway are five small children and two older kids. All four of the small boys look the same, but with their ponytail at different angles, the little girl has orangey colored hair and is the smallest, the girl of the two older kids has yellow hair and yellow eyes, brown monkey ears and a monkey tail swings between her legs, she's beaming a big grin at me, and then the boy looks a little grumpy, he has ginger colored hair up in pigtails and light brown eyes.

The little blonde girl, who is clinging to his arm, exclaims, "Tar-Tar, he's up! Let's say hi!" She practically drags the kid over to me and Ichigo, the smaller kids in tow, and I feel like I'm an animal in a zoo.

"What's your name, na no da?" The little girl asks, "I'm Purin, na no da! Where'd you come from? How'd you get here? Are you homeless? Are you going to-?"

The boy- er, Tar-Tar, clamps a hand over her mouth, "Alright, Purin, that's enough questions, give him time to at least _think_!"

Purin pulls Tar-Tar's hand off her mouth, "Are you going to join our circus, na no da?"

"I guess," I answer. "My name's Kish, and you're Purin and…Tar-Tar?"

"The name's Tart!" The boy snaps. "Don't call me "Tar-Tar", got it?"

"Tart, don't be so rude!" Ichigo scolds.

"Hag." Tart mumbles under his breath, Ichigo glares at him but ignores it, turning to me.

"Sorry about him," She says, "He doesn't like strangers."

"It's okay." I say.

"Why are you in Ichigo-oneechan's bed?" The littlest girl asks.

"Ichigo's…bed?" I say. I didn't know this was her bed. Crap, I must be getting dirt all over her sheets and blanket! Why hasn't she said anything?

"Yeah, if Ryou finds you in her bed he'll kill you." Tart says with a smirk.

"Ryou?" I look up at him.

"He's our ringmaster, na no da!" Purin says.

"That's right, you should probably meet him if you want to stay," Ichigo says. She grabs my arm and stands, "Come on."

I let her pull me along as we exit the room, which I now see is actually a trailer, much like the ones people used in circuses during the Depression. She tugs me over to this tent were I see Pai, some other tall brown haired guy, and a shorter blonde haired, blue eyed boy. They look at us and I tug on my shirt as if I can somehow straighten it or make it look better. All these people are so clean and neatly dressed even though they live in a circus.

"Is this him?" The blonde asks.

"Yes. Ryou, this is Kish," Ichigo says, "Kish, this is our ringmaster, Ryou Shirogane."

"Hi." I say, waving a hand up and then letting it fall back down.

"Are you feeling any better?" The brown haired guy asks.

I nod, "Yeah, especially now that I've had something to drink."

"Oh, good," He says, "My name is Keiichiro Akasaka; I'm the chef here and also Ryou-san's legal guardian."

"Nice to meet you." I say. I look at the Pai, waiting to see if he'll say something himself, but he doesn't, he just stairs at me with a blank expression. Some of these carnie people are really scary.

"Zakuro-san told us you haven't anywhere to go," Keiichiro says.

"Yeah, that's right," I say, "But Ichigo said I could stay here." I glance at her but she's looking at Ryou.

He glances between me and her a few times before finally settling on Ichigo, "She did?"

"Yes, and I think we should let him on," Ichigo says, "It's either that for him or he keeps living in the streets."

Ryou looks to Keiichiro who stares back at him, a look on his face that's asking him to let me stay. Who knew this is where I would end up? Working as a carnie, er….what did Ichigo call them? Rousta-somethings. I can never remember.

Ryou and Keiichiro exchange a few whispered words and then Ryou sighs, "Fine. He can stay."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah, just stay out of the performers' way," Ryou says, "And do as you're told, follow the instructions you're given, and don't do anything illegal."

I furrow my brow, confused. What illegal thing would I do? "Uh, right, thanks."

"Ichigo, you're the one that told him he could stay, you're in charge of him," Ryou says, "Pai, you're the head of the roustabouts so it's up to you on what work he does."

"Wait!" Ichigo squeaked, "I have contortion and magician practice! I can't look after a rube, too!" Ryou smirked and walked out of the tent. "Ryou~!"

She pouted cutely. God, she's just cute no matter what she does! But what's a rube? She sighs and turns to Pai, "Any work you want him to do right now?"

Pai looks at me, studying me for a minute, "No."

"Alright, let's go then." Ichigo grabs my arm and tugs me out of the tent.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"If you're going to stay, you got to know who everyone is," Ichigo answers, "And since Ryou put me in charge of you, I'm the one that has to show you around."

"Oh." Is all I say. She seems annoyed now. I guess she must be busy, with all the magician and contortionism and stuff she has to do. "Are you okay with that?"

She stops abruptly and I almost run into her. "To be honest; not really." She starts walking again and this time I almost trip over my own feet.

"Okay, so the first place we'll go is…" She thinks for a minute as she tugs me around. "Painappuru: The Bearded Lady."

"The bearded…_lady_?" I repeat.

"Yeah, the Bearded Lady." Ichigo says, as though this is totally normal. Well, I guess it is for her. "Her little sister is Wataame, Tart's assistant, you'll meet her later."

"Oh…Tart was that kid in your trailer with the little blonde girl and all those kids, right?" I ask.

"Yup, that was Tart," Ichigo says, "He's a little brat, but a pretty good escape artist-oh, the blond girl was Purin-and he helps Pai out a lot."

We enter this tent, it's a small tent, much smaller than the one we were in last and there's a small stage with a woman standing on it, practicing I guess, whatever the bearded lady is supposed to do. She's singing.

"Painappuru!" Ichigo calls up over the music playing. I notice a boom box off to the side of the stage with a small girl sitting next to it, a stack of CD's in her lap. She has baby blue hair in a sort of bob-cut and pale pink eyes. I look over at Painappuru. She has long, curly yellow hair and green eyes and her…beard…is yellow like her hair. If the kid is Wataame, they look nothing alike.

"Hey, girl!" Painappuru says, the kid hitting the pause button on the boom box. Painappuru hops down off the stage. "How ya' been? I ain't seen you much since we picked up that kid."

"I'm not a kid…" I mumble.

Painappuru looks over at me, surprised as though she'd just noticed I was there, "You're him? Wow, I'd say you look an awful lot like Kehki."

"Who?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Kehki, he was an old friends' husband." Painappuru says.

"Oh…nice." I say. How am I really supposed to react to that?

"'Course, Kehki was his stage name, back when we _had _stage names," Painappuru says, "But we don't do that any more, we just use our real names, but not our last names."

"Okay. So what was his real name?" I ask.

Painappuru waves her hand in the air, "Heck if I can remember, it was such a long time ago that we new him and Madame Kurokaji, we always called him by his stage name. It was more of a nickname, really." Kurokaji? That sounds kind of familiar…

She turns back to Ichigo, "I suppose all you came here for was to introduce us?"

"Yeah, sorry, I've got a lot to do today!" Ichigo says, smiling brightly.

"You showing him around?" Painappuru asks.

"Yeah, Ryou put him under my care." Ichigo says.

"Oh, I wouldn't today," Painappuru says, "He plans on setting up and showing by tonight."

"_Tonight_?!" Ichigo exclaims, she spins around and runs, grabbing my arm to pull me with her and yelling, "Gotta go, Painappuru!"

"Where are we going?" I ask as we run. We reach her trailer in a few minutes and she hops up the steps, I follow but she releases my arm, spins around, and pushes me away. I fall off the small steps and land on the ground, looking up at her.

"You're not allowed in while I'm changing." She states, glaring at me, and then marches into her trailer. What the heck was that all about?

"She is usually like that." I snap my head around to see Pai standing not too far from me. He's still blank faced as ever.

"Like what?" I ask him, standing up and brushing myself off.

"Sweet, most of the time, but also…feisty, I guess you could call it." Pai says. "It really is annoying."

I smirk, "Annoying? Heh, I think it's cute; I like 'em feisty."

Pai glares at me. What is this? Glare at Kish Day? "I would not get to close to Ichigo, if I were you."

"Well, you're not me, so don't worry about it." I say, shrugging. "Anything I can do to help set up?"

Pai stays silent for a moment, thinking it over I guess. Finally, he says, "The tightrope ladder needs to have its bolts tightened, come with me and I'll give you the proper tools."

I follow him to this small tent that has a stage in it, kind of like the one in Painappuru's tent, only smaller, and _THE CHARMER OF SNAKES_ is painted on a banner above it.

"Whose tent is this?" I ask.

"Mine." Pai answers monotonously. He opens a small door on the side of the stage and I see it's actually a cupboard with toolboxes, paints, paintbrushes, and a few tiny cages of mice in it. Off to the side of the stage is a table with a metal wire cage on it, a big one, and there's at least two snakes in it…I think, maybe there's more, I can't tell from here. They're all black with golden eyes and slithering pink tongues.

"You're a snake charmer? Ichigo said you were the head of the rousa…somethings." I say.

"Roustabouts, and yes," Pai says, "I am both; snake charmer and roustabout leader."

"Oh…what's a roustabout?" I ask.

"A working man." Pai answers. He takes out a metal toolbox and hands it to me.

I take it and almost drop it. What the heck is in here?

"The tightrope tent is the white and blue striped one, I am sure you have the ability to find it." Pai says. He takes out of the mouse cages and then goes to the snakes with it. Not wanting to see what he plans to do with them and the snakes, I turn and leave quickly.

Blue and white tent…blue and white tent…I don't see any blue and white tent and this toolbox of led is getting kind of heavy. I see a tall girl with green hair and glasses, she has white ribbons that spill down from her hair and twist around her down to her ankles. It must be hard to walk with those things.

"Hey! Girl over there!" I shout over to her, "Girl with the glasses!" Finally, she looks over at me, confused.

"Can I help you?" She calls back, jogging up to me.

"Yeah, I'm looking for the blue and white tightrope tent." I say.

"Oh! You must be Kish-san!" The girl says.

"Yeah, Pai told me to fix the ladders. Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Retasu, I'll show you were the tent is." She says.

I follow her as we start walking towards a series of tents.

"What do you around here?" I ask.

"I'm one of the aristocratic clowns," She answers, "And also the mermaid."

I look down at her legs, she's wearing a green skirt that reaches the ground but I don't see any fin, "Mermaid, huh?"

"In water, yes." She says, smiling at me as though I'm one of the people she's performing for.

"Neat. And how's a clown "aristocratic"?" I ask.

She giggles, "You'll just have to come to the show tonight and see, now won't you?"

"I guess." I say.

"Ah, here it is!" She says, stopping in front of a rather large tent. It's striped a pale blue and dirtied white.

"Thanks." I say, looking up at it.

"A pleasure!" She says and runs off.

I enter the tent and see two very tall ladders, like ones you would see on high diving boards, but instead of a board there's a long, thin rope connecting them. There's a blue haired girl with blue bird wings and tail feathers practicing ballet off to the side, but I ignore her and walk up to the nearest ladder. I set the toolbox on the ground, kneeling in front of it, and open it. What am I supposed to use? There's got to be about six wrenches, ten screwdrivers, and God only knows how many bolts, nuts, and screws. I look up at the ladder and decide that a wrench would be best for tightening bolts. I pick up a random one and begin my work.

It takes a while, at least half an hour, to do just one ladder, and by the time I reach the top, my hands hurt. I look over at the thin rope and see-

"What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaim, though I really should have known better because now that it's processed through my mind what "tightrope walker" is, the blue haired ballerina girl has swayed dangerously on the rope, her eyes wide and arms flailing for balance.

She falls but thankfully manages to catch the rope and pull herself up, her blue wings batting madly. Her wings can really move?

"What in _God's_ name is wrong with you?!" She screams, steadying herself on the rope, sitting on it. "What were you thinking?! Scaring me to death!"

"You were walking on a piece of string!" I shout at her.

"I'm a tightrope walker, you dimwit!" She says, "Its part of my act!"

Duh. _She's_ the tightrope walker which makes perfect sense because _she_ was the one walking on the tightrope.

She sighs and stands up carefully on the rope, walking over to me. She steps onto the platform and says, "My name is Minto, I'm Retasu's partner in our aristocratic clown act."

"Oh, I'm Kish. And you just said you were the tightrope walker." I say.

Minto rolls her eyes, "I do both." She sneers down at me, "Stay out of the performers' way, rube, it'll be for your own good." With that she climbs down the ladder and marches out of the tent.

* * *

Me: I think I got everyone...I know I said I would put who does what in this chapter, so sorry if I missed anyone! And there's like, one/two more OC's that'll be introduced, and then the rest will be totally random people for roustabouts.

Kish: Read and Review please!


	3. The Lovers Card

Me: So very, very sorry for the late update, so much has been going on. I feel kind of...dead. Is high school supposed to do that? Ah, never mind, on with the story.

Thanks for Reading:  
**Midnight Tornado  
Ricco Latte Mew  
Don'..Endings  
Mo12341234  
Zira the insane one  
**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

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Ichigo's POV

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I'm now dressed in an off-white ringmaster coat, a pink leotard, candy pink fishnet tights, knee-high off-white boots, and pink fingerless gloves, my hair up in pigtails with white ribbons. I quickly walk through the carnival, looking for Kish. Where the heck did he go? I bet someone ran off with him, maybe Pai or one of the other roustabouts. I need him as my assistant tonight since Ryou is busy with helping Keiichiro in the cookhouse tent.

Finally, I find him staring at Shio and Koshou, the Siamese twins, as they perform their tap-dancing routine. I grab his shoulder and he spins around to face me, his golden eyes still wide and his dark green hair hanging in his face. Why doesn't he tie it back or something? It's so long for a guy.

"Ichigo!" He says.

"Hey, I need your help." I say.

"Sure, with what?" He asks.

I wave my magician's wand around in the air, "I need you to be my assistant tonight."

His eyes follow the wand like a dog to a stick. "Why?"

"Because there's no one else that can." I say. I smirk wave it around more, amused that he watches it so closely. I wonder if he doesn't know what it is.

He catches my hand in both of his and stares at the wand. He raises and eyebrow, "What's with the stick?"

I tap him on the nose with it, "It's called a wand, genius." I try not to giggle. He seriously didn't know what it was?

"Oh…so, you need me to be your assistant?" He asks, "With what?"

I wave the wand a bit more, "Magic, duh, what else?"

"I don't know," Kish says, giving me an almost defiant look, "You told me you do contortionism too, right?"

"Yeah, during the day," I tell him, "But since the show started at night, I start with magic and won't be doing any contortion until tomorrow; now come on already!"

I grab his hand and run for where the trailers are. He'll need some sort of costume and he needs to wash up some, but where can I get guy clothes that will fit him? I'd say Ryou, but Kish is nearly anorexic since he's never been able to afford much food, Ryou's clothes will probably be a bit too baggy on him, though I guess I'll have to deal with what I have. I tug Kish over to Ryou and Keiichiro's trailer and step up the few steps to enter it.

"What are we looking for?" Kish asks.

"Something for you to wear." I answer, scanning my eyes over the small room. There's a bunk bed, a dresser, a small, built-in closet, and a table built onto the wall with two chairs at it on the right wall. Other than that, there's only the bookshelf covering most of the left wall.

I go to Ryou's dresser and search through it, leaving Kish at the doorway. What could he wear? I glance over at him, something dark colored I guess, it would go well with his pale skin and dark hair…ah, this should be good. A throw a pair of dark camouflage cargo pants at him and they land on his unsuspecting head. He looks over at me, confused, and pulls the pants off.

"Am I supposed to wear these?" He asks.

"Yeah." I say like it should have been obvious.

"Okay." He says. My eyes widen when he reaches for his nearly destroyed leather belt.

"Wait!" I squeak, spinning around. "Dear God, let me at least turn around first! Don't you have any decency?"

I hear him chuckle and then his belt comes undone and his pants fall to the floor. Couldn't he have waited until I wasn't in the trailer? This is so embarrassing! I fold my arms and lock my eyes onto the bunk bed, my face is hot and I know I must be redder than a ripe cherry.

"I'm done." He finally says.

I slowly turn around. The pants aren't half bad on him, they're pretty baggy but still fit fine with his belt on, and they're supposed to be like that anyway.

Kish raises his arms some and then lets them fall back to his sides. "Well?"

"Nice." I say and turn back to the dresser. Now for a shirt…he definitely can't go on stage in that old rag he's been wearing. I dig around in the drawers.

"That's it?" Kish asks, "Just 'nice'?"

"What else do you want me to say?" I ask, "Lie and say you look like a million bucks?"

"No," He growls, "But something more than 'nice' would be good. Honestly, how am I supposed to know you actually mean it with 'nice' as your only response?"

I look over my shoulder and glare at him, "Because you're still wearing them." I hiss and turn back to the drawers. "Just be glad I'm giving you what I am, if Ryou knew I was giving some of his clothes to you he'd be throwing a fit."

"Then what's he going to say when he sees me in them?" Kish asks.

"He probably won't even notice," I say, "He hasn't worn those pants in forever, and I'm looking for a shirt that he barely ever wears either."

"Oh." Kish says and then there's silence.

I finally find him a shirt; it's a short-sleeved black button-up. It's not much but it'll have to do for now. I toss it to him and dash for the door, not even staying long enough to make sure he got it. I close the door behind me once I step out and hop down the steps. I lean on the trailer. Looking up and around, I spot Zakuro standing in the doorway of her trailer, staring right at me. I sigh. I know what this means; she wants to talk to me. I wonder what about? I push off from the side of the trailer and walk over to her.

"What's up?" I ask, looking up at her.

"I would like to talk to you." I knew it.

"Sure, what about?" I ask.

"Please come inside." Zakuro says and turns, walking into her trailer. I walk up to small steps and enter behind her.

The inside of her trailer isn't any different than what it was the last time I was in here. Black lace covering the walls, a bed in the back, puppets hanging in the corner above it, a dresser against the wall and a Ouija board resting on top of it inside it's box. I'm not sure why she has a Ouija board, I think she said something about someone having given it to her once, but she's never used it before from what I know.

(AN: Just incase someone doesn't know; "Ouija" is actually pronounced "wee-jee")

"So, you wanted something?" I ask her.

"Yes," She says, "It is about Kish."

"What about him?" I ask.

Zakuro pulls a tarot card out of her sleeve and hands it to me. I take it and look at it; the Lovers Card.

"The three cards I showed him were not the only ones I found in the reading." Zakuro says.

"The…Lovers?" I ask, "Why wouldn't you show him this?"

"The Lovers card shows that choices will have to be made," Zakuro says, "Most often it is the choice between what makes sense and following your heart."

"And this was Kish's why?" I ask, very confused.

"I saw something when I picked that card up," Zakuro says. "I saw you, Ichigo," I look up at her now, surprised, "You and Kish, alone together. He was in pain, emotionally, and you…you were just looking down at him as he was on his knees, crying for you."

I was…well, more than shocked. _I_ was the one Kish would fall in love with? But…why? Sure, I didn't like having to be his babysitter but I didn't want to hurt him, it wasn't even his fault.

"One can not control who their heart gives itself to." Zakuro says as though she's read my mind.

"Y-you saw this through your clairvoyance, right?" I ask her. She nods once. "That doesn't mean it'll for sure come true, though."

"Perhaps if you take the proper measurements and are careful, it…might be avoidable." Zakuro says, "But almost always the future is t he future, and what is to happen is to happen."

This…I couldn't tell him this, could I? He probably wouldn't even believe me, he still doesn't seem to understand fortune telling, and he's so new here, he'd just blow it off. But Zakuro said the near future, meaning it'll happen sometime soon. How am I supposed to keep Kish from falling in love with me? Maybe this is just a mistake in the cards.

"It is not." Zakuro says.

I look up at her, "Huh? How did you…?"

Zakuro gave me a small, rare smirk, "You were thinking aloud again." I blush, slightly embarrassed, smile back.

"Oh." I say.

"Ichigo!" We both hear from outside. "Where'd you go?!" It's Kish, from the sound of it.

"Uh, I have to go!" I say to Zakuro, she nods once, slowly, and I turn, dashing out the door.

"Kish! I'm over here!" I exclaim, running through the carnival, trying to spot him.

I see him over by once of the cotton candy machines. He spots me and his face lights up brighter than the Ferris wheel.

"Ichigo! I couldn't find you!" He says, running up to me. He smiles down at me, "I though I'd lost you!"

I smile up at him, "Nah, I was just over talking to Zakuro."

"What do you think?" He asks, looking down at himself.

I look at his clothes, the ones I gave him from Ryou's dresser, "You look great!" I tell him, "We need to get to the magician stage or we'll be late though, we still have to set up and all that."

"Okay." Kish says.

I turn to lead him to the tent and as I begin walking, he falls in step next to me and our hands brush against each other. I glance down and just barely miss seeing him about to curl his fingers around mine, but I guess he decides against it.

What Zakuro told me kind of scares me. What if I hurt him so much he's scarred for life? I've never hurt anyone like that before…well, except for _him_, but that's completely different. That wasn't even my fault. This, with Kish and what Zakuro said, it would be. I glance over my shoulder and see her standing in her trailer doorway again, staring at us.

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Me: Dun dun dun! Who's the "him" Ichigo was talking about? What else could Zakuro be hiding? You'll just have to wait and read, now won't you?

**Important: Well, _I_ think it's important that people know. I have just began attending public school this year from having homeschooled all my life. It is a very different set up that I am not used to. I am sorry to say that I will not be able to post updates very quickly, maybe not even for about another month or so, until I get more situated and comfotable with public high school. Sorry if this is an invoncieiance to anyone, but homework is kind of taking up most of my time right now.**

Me: Anyway, please still Read and Review, I'd like to know if you all still think it's good so far. Thanks!


	4. The Puppets in the Corner

Yeah, I know, please don't shoot me, I haven't updated in forever, but school ate my brain and wouldn't give it back untill now. So, here be the long-awaited fourth chapter to this story, I hope people are still interested.

**I DO NOT OWN TOKYO MEW MEW!!!**

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Kish's POV

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The magic show was pretty interesting; it was almost like the magic was really happening. And I had always thought it was the assistant that did most of the work from watching those _Magician's Secrets Revealed_ shows. I guess not.

"Thanks, Kish," Ichigo says, "You were a big help tonight."

"No problem." I say, still slightly out of breath from all the running around. "But you know," I say slyly, eyeing her, "If I was such a help to you, I could think of a few ways to repay me."

Ichigo gives me a questioning look, if not a defiant one, and says, "And how would that be?"

"You said you had to show me around the carnival and all that, right? So I would know how to get around." I say.

Ichigo raises an eyebrow, nodding.

"Well, perhaps you could give me that tour?" I say.

Ichigo shrugs, "I don't see why not."

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It kind of feels like we're on a date, but I know it's not, she's already shown she doesn't see me that way. It's still a nice feeling though.

I see Pai sitting cross-legged up on a stage; _SNAKE CHARMER_ is painted on a banner above him. He's playing a flute and there's a round, flat-bottomed basket in front of him.

"Come here." Ichigo says, and she pulls me over to see him. As Pai plays the flute, a small desert rattle snake slithers up from the basket, the lid falling to the floor beside it, and it dances around kind of like a belly dancer, it's tongue flicking out.

"How does he do that?" I ask.

"The snake was tame when he got it," Ichigo explains, "And he trained it."

"Oh, come here." She pulls me over to the next stage. There's a little blonde girl up on the stage. She holds up a stick with fire on the end and puts it in her mouth, then she blows onto the other stick and the fire is huge.

"Wow…how does she not burn herself?" I ask.

Ichigo giggles, "You have a lot of questions, huh?" I look down at her and see that she has her arm linked around mine. Maybe this is a date. She looks over at something else, "Want to see Painappuru?"

"Sure." I say. She's pretty, but the beard kind of…girls just shouldn't have beards, it's not natural.

"Does she really have a beard? I heard most places they have fake ones." I say.

"It's real," Ichigo says, "It's actually the result of a hormone imbalance, that's how she's able to grow a beard."

It was still a little weird. I look around and see a merry-go-round, I've never been on one before, and I wonder if Ichigo will take me on it. I tug on her sleeve and she looks up at me.

"Can we go on the merry-go-round?" I ask. I know I must sound childish, but I really want to go on it.

"The carousel? But it's for kids." Ichigo says, a light giggle escaping her lips.

"I know, but I really want to go on it!" I say.

She giggles, "Alright, let's go!"

She leads me over and gets up onto a horse, expecting me to get on another one I think, but I slide on behind her and wrap my arms around her securely, holding onto the pole.

"Kish…" Ichigo says, fidgeting a little. I think she's a bit uncomfortable with it, but not too much I hope. A few other little kids get on and it starts, classic carnival music playing in the background, but in some really weird way it makes it kind of more romantic, I guess because we're both with the Tokyo Mew Mew circus.

She's so close, her hair is tickling my face, and I can smell her scent; strawberries and cotton candy. Perfect for this place. My eyes close and I just enjoy her, her scent and being so close. The plastic horse we're on bobs up and down gently, slowly. She's so warm…then reality all comes rushing back at the sound of a high pitched squeal emitting from the merry-go-round as it slows to a stop along wit the music. Damn. I don't know how long the ride was, but it didn't last long enough. I lean against her back a little.

"Can we go again?" I ask quietly into her ear.

"Er…let's go see something else." She says and slides off. I sigh and follow her. I hate to admit it, but I think Zakuro might be right, I think I am falling for Ichigo. It might not be love yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll turn into it. Soon. Very Soon. I haven't known her for long, but there's just something about her, it's not like with any other girl I've ever had a shred of interest in before. She's just…different.

She spins around to face me once we step off the merry-go-round and I have a strange urge to kiss her, "Want to get your fortune told?" She asks.

"My what? Oh, sure, I guess." I say. I had heard what she'd said, but this wanting to kiss her somehow blocks everything else out.

"Well then, what do you want to do first? See the escape artist or have your fortune told?" Ichigo asks.

"Uh…" I glance around. I see the escape artist's tent over by the midway games, just in front of them, and Zakuro's trailer a few feet closer to us, and a cotton candy stand in with the games. "Can we get some cotton candy?"

"Sure!" She links her arm in mine again and tugs me over to the stand; I very willingly let her lead me. There's a blue haired girl managing it, wearing a black button-up short that has short, puffy sleeves and a black miniskirt that puffs out a little like a tutu and is made mostly of lace with blue ribbons tied into bows on the sides.

"Hey, Minto, what are you doing at the cotton candy vender?" Ichigo asks her.

"Working," Minto says, grudgingly. She eyes me almost suspiciously, "Who's your date?"

I glance at Ichigo, her cheeks flare up a little, "He's not my date, this is Kish, the-"

So this _isn't_ a date. I was kind of hoping it was.

"Oh, the new roustabout." Minto finishes for her and her suspiciousness disappears. "So Ryou really let you have a day off to show him around?"

"More like I forced him to." Ichigo says with a smile, "Can we have some cotton candy?"

"Of course, blue raspberry or strawberry?" Minto asks, taking a white stick from a cup. Ichigo looks up at me.

"Strawberry." I answer.

Minto dips the white stick into the fluffy pink stuff spinning on one side of the cart and takes it out a minute later, after it's formed itself into a fluffy pink cloud on the stick. She hands it to Ichigo.

"Thanks! Bye!" Ichigo says, now pulling towards the escape artist's tent. We stop in front of it and she pulls of a piece of the cotton candy. She reaches up and puts it to my lips. Why can't this be a date? I open my mouth and close my lips around the candy and the tips of her fingers, staying there a little longer than I should have. She blushes and pulls her hand away.

"Is it good?" She asks.

The confection dissolves in my mouth and I lick my lips, "Very."

"Great." She pulls me into the tent and towards the front of the crowd so we can see the escape artist up close. There's nothing but a chained up trunk on the stage, but it's wriggling around. Suddenly, the lock clicks and the lid pops open, Tart tumbles out, stopping on one knee near the edge of the stage with a big, triumphant grin on his face. The crowd claps and cheers.

A little girl with apple green eyes and rust colored hair comes out and drags the trunk away, next bringing a straightjacket out with padlocks and chains, the ring of keys dangling off her hip on her skirt. She put the jacket on Tart and secures it with the chains and padlocks, next bringing out a large, oblong box. Tart steps inside and the girl shuts the door, securing it closed with another padlock. I can hear banging around in the box and it shakes a little, rocking back and forth, a few minutes later and the padlock on the door starts to jiggle before falling to pieces and Tart bursts out of the box. I smirk and clap along with the crowd. The kid is pretty good.

"The little girl is Apple, Painappuru's little sister," Ichigo says, "She works as Tart's assistant, and they're best friends, though I think Purin's a little jealous of them."

Jealous? Tart's got to be about, what? Ten? Eleven? How old can Purin be? "Who's Purin?" I ask.

"Our flying trapeze leader, you'll see her tonight," Ichigo says, "She was also the fire breather." So that was Purin. Why are such little kids working in a circus? Does everyone have some sort of background? Or did they just join up because they had nowhere else to go, like me?

"Hey, come over here!" Ichigo drags me out of the tent and to one just a few feet away, it's large and white and pale green striped. Inside there are many seats around a large ring that has a wide pool in the centre of it. Sitting on a fake giant fishhook hanging from the top of the tent was a girl. She's very pretty, with green wavy hair flowing down her back and sparkling green eyes. It takes me a minute, but then I realize that it's Retasu, the shy girl with the glasses that is sitting up there, only her hair is down and her glasses are off. She's wearing a pale green bikini top with a matching fin, and these white ribbon things are protruding from her head.

"That fin looks really…real." I say. Ichigo doesn't say anything, she just giggles a little, like it's some sort of secret.

Retasu fall backwards and lands with a big splash in the pool. She bobs up to the surface and smiles and waves at the crowd.

"So, this is what Retasu does?" I ask.

"Pretty much," Ichigo said, "But she also does some clown work and backstage work during the day."

"Wow, everyone does a lot around here." I say.

"Yeah…" Ichigo says.

I look down at her and she seems to be concentrating on Retasu pretty hard, until she looks up at me.

"Hey, how about that fortune telling?" She says, smiling.

I smile back, "Sure."

We exit the tent and a short walk to our left, passing classic carnival games and snack sheds, led us to Madame Zakuro's trailer. We step up to the door and it opens, Zakuro standing on the other side.

"I thought you would come." Zakuro says, "Please, enter."

We step in and I notice there are puppets hanging in the far left corner of the room above the bed, and a Ouija board on the bed. Black lace covers the walls.

"Kish, you came for another reading?" Zakuro asks.

"Uh…yeah." I say. "Ichigo wanted me to…"

"Sit." Zakuro says. I sit on a small stool in front of a small table. Zakuro shuffles the tarot cards and deals out four of them.

The Tower, the World, Ace of Swords, and Two of Swords.

"I see little difference in your reading from this morning." Zakuro said.

"Great." I said. "So…can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Zakuro said, collecting her cards again and putting them back in their box.

"Do you do puppet shows, too?" I ask.

Zakuro looks up, the slightest hint of confusion crossing her face, "No, why do you ask?"

"You have puppets hanging in the corner." I say.

"Ah…those…" She goes quiet and a silence falls on the three of us.

"Is there something special about them?" I ask.

"Quite." Zakuro says, "They were given to me by an old friend of mine; Madame Kurokanji, we used to have a puppet act together."

"Painappuru told me about her," I say, "Her and Kehki, right?"

"Yes. They were married." Zakuro said, "But…that was a long time ago, before you were born, and if you would please; I have other customers to attend to."

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Please comment! I would really like to know if it is still good or not! Even though it's been so long, I'm still really into the whole carnival thing, and hope to keep it up until the end, so...anyway, that's it for now, I need to get to bed.


	5. Who They Are

Okay, so I kinda wrote this chapter in one shot as it all came to me at once, and sorry it's kind of short. I know in the first chapter I said the POV would jump between Kish and Ichigo, but I thought this was very important, so I made an exception. And if you want to know more about the story and the two names I've mentioned in past chapters like, once or twice. Madame Kurokanji and Kehki. Two circus performers that are no longer with the circus. And, I know this is supposed to be all about Kish and Ichigo, but the other characters are going to be playing huge roles also, and from what I can see now, Zakuro has a the biggest, and this chapter will explain why. So, on to the story...

**I DO NOT OWN TOKYO MEW MEW!**

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Zakuro's POV

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__

{Flashback to sixteen years ago}

I was four, I was found in an adoption house by a woman named Raimu Chikyuuhoshi. She was a nice woman, with pretty black hair and bright green eyes. She said "hello" and asked for my name.

"Zakuro." I answered.

She smiled at me, "How would you like to come live with me?"

"You're going to adopt me?" I asked.

She looked surprised, "So, you know exactly what's going on, huh?" Her smile never left.

"Yes." I said.

"Then yes, Zakuro, I would love to adopt you." She said. She sounded so sweet and loving. I nodded in approval. I was going to have a new mommy.

The place she took me wasn't like what I had imagined; pristine little suburbs house with a puppy and Daddy waiting at the front door. When she said "we're home" I found myself now in a strange place. There were people walking around everywhere and old looking wooden trailers with names painted on the sides in various colors, most faded and chipping away. There was one big one that a tan blonde man was sitting in, talking to a young boy with long brown hair. On the side of that one read

"A circus?" I whispered.

As Raimu drove up next to a much smaller trailer with

"Yes, a circus," Raimu said, parking the small car. She reached over and gripped my lower arm, "Zakuro, you are a very special girl; for good reasons, the Japanese government wants to hide people like us, so this is where we go." I just stared at her. How was I, an orphaned girl, special? She took me into the small trailer, explaining everything.

"Fortunes tellers and psychics really can do everything you hear about them doing." Raimu said. "When the adoption supervisors reported you predicting certain things using the toy tarot cards they had, even though they were small things, we were informed and I came to get you."

"Doesn't a circus only need one fortune teller?" I asked.

"Yes," Raimu sighed. She took something off of a table and turned to me with holding them. "But it really takes two to do a puppet show, and I'll be training you on controlling your special ability, so that one day, should need be, you can take over for me." She gave me a big, reassuring smile, and for the first time I smiled back.

Then, someone opened the door and stepped in. He was a tall man with long, messy dark green hair and golden eyes.

"Ah! Kehki!" Raimu said.

"Hey, honey." They gave each other a quick peck. "Is this her?"

"Yes, this is Zakuro," Raimu said, "Zakuro; this is my husband, Kehki."

"Hello, sir." I said, giving a small bow.

"Kehki is his stage name," Raimu went on, "his real name is Kohii."

"Like your stage name is Kurokanji?" I asked. Raimu nodded.

For the next several months, Raimu taught me how to use the puppets and we did many shows together. She also taught me fortune telling. The year came and went and soon I was five, though I don't remember my birthday, so we made it the date I was adopted; September 6. For my birthday, I was made a cookie cake by Keiichiro Akasaka, the circus owners assistant, cook, and right-hand man. I never learned the name of the blonde man, but I knew he had a son, we played together a lot. His name was Ryou Shirogane. He was very smart and liked to show it off a lot. I always liked playing with Keiichiro better, when he had to the time to, but he usually didn't, so I would just follow him around when I got annoyed with Ryou or wasn't practicing with Raimu.

About a month after my birthday, Raimu's stomach started getting bigger. When we would curl up on her bed together, she would talk about what she wanted to name a baby. She went through many different ones; Kinoko, Meron, Nashi, Mikan…she just couldn't decide. And a few months later, a very small baby came out of her big belly. He had green hair and golden eyes, just like his daddy, and Raimu finally decided on a name. Kish.

He was so tiny, and when Raimu and Kohii had to work, I was put in charge of him with Keiichiro. We spent a lot of time together. When Kish was five months old, Ryou's father came to Kohii with a tiny, pink bundle. He said it was named Ichigo, and that it had been left on the circus's grounds. I realized that "it" was a baby. He said there was a note left saying Ichigo's birthmother had been only sixteen and was afraid of something because of the baby. Something she might have. She had nowhere to go herself, and wanted her baby to be taken care of, so she left her with the circus. Kohii and Raimu began raising her like their own, just like they had with me. Ichigo and Kish were always playing together under the watch of myself and Keiichiro.

Keiichiro would always talk to me while we watched them, about new recipes he wanted to try, about Ryou's father, about everything pretty much. I like listening to him talk. Sooner than I could keep track of, Kish and Ichigo were two years old. I was seven, and Keiichiro was thirteen. We were watching over Kish and Ichigo when he told me something Kohii and Raimu had been keeping a secret from me. They were planning on taking Kish and leaving the circus.

"What about Ichigo?" I asked him. "And me?"

"You will both be left here," Keiichiro said, "for Ryou's father and I to look after." I didn't like people seeing me cry, but I didn't care in front of Keiichiro. I cried anyway. I didn't want my parents to go, even if they were adopted. He held me and I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, my head is resting on his lap and my eyes still have some tears in them.

"Why?" I asked.

"Kohii thinks he can support his family better by joining the military," Keiichiro said, "And he wishes nothing more than for Kish to have normal life."

Suddenly, my eyes glazed over and I was seeing something else. A younger Kohii, and older me and everyone else, but no Ryou's dad, or Raimu and there were a few new faces. Kohii was lying on a bed and woke up to an older Ichigo. It was all so blurry, but he had come back…but…how was he younger? And that was when I knew…

"He will find his way back home…" I whispered.

Keiichiro chuckled, thinking I was being silly and wishful, "What's that supposed to me? You're silly, Zakuro."

After Kohii and Raimu left, I never saw or heard from them again.

THE TOKYO MEW MEW CIRCUS._ My eyes widened._MADAME KUROKANJI _painted on it in bright purple and _THE MYSTICAL KEHKI_ painted in a very neon green underneath it._

{Present day…}

I sat on the edge of my bed, staring down at one of the three puppets Raimu had left for me. It had long arms that were checked with black and white and black hands, a white face with big, black button eyes, a black stitched-on mouth, a purple torso, legs to match the arms with pointed black feet, orange hair made of yarn underneath a purple and green jester's cap, and double handles. This one had always been my favorite; I had named it Kuro Hoshi. A knock at the door startled me. After moment I knew who it was.

"You may enter." I called.

Keiichiro opened the door and stepped in. "Zakuro-san." He gave a small, polite bow at his waist.

"Keiichiro-san." I said, giving a small bow of my head.

"How are you?" Keiichiro asked.

"I am fine." I said.

"I was concerned," He said, "With receiving the news of Raimu-san and Kohii-san, and Kish's return. It's all a bit sudden."

"Yes, I…" For once, I actually wasn't sure how to respond to him. Things weren't like when we were little. They were very different. So different. "I am…dealing with things. It is hard, trying to replace Raimu." I smirked bitterly, something very rare from me, "Madame Kurokanji."

"You were never meant to replace her." Keiichiro said, "We had known something like this would happen; it always does when two peoples in a circus marry and have a child. We just…we weren't sure what we would do without her."

"I understand." I said, "Now if you please, I have things to prepare for."

"Of course, your fortune telling." Keiichiro said. He bowed again, "I will leave you to your business. Please pardon my interruption." He turned quickly and left.

I wanted to tell him that I hadn't meant it like that, and that he would never be an interruption to me. I wanted to be what we used to be when we were little, but that will never happen. I stand and throw the puppet onto the bed, frustrated, and went to set up my crystal ball and tarot cards for the next person that will come in here, pretending to want the truth, but really only wanting a lie.

* * *

Shockers to anyone? I hope so. And do not fear, this is not the entire plot line, just a nice sized chunk of it that I thought would be important for people to know before the story got too far in and I left people confuzled. Now I just have to come up with how the other three mews and Pai and Tart tie into everything...XD I hope I don't overload myself, I have a rather busy week next week so there probably won't be any updates for a while, and I have two essays to write soooo....yeah. Anyway, thanks for reading!!

Much love ~Insanity


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